The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 2

Book excerpt: In war-torn medieval Japan, a young samurai lord struggles to retake his throne, but not by fighting. Hojo Tokiyuki will reclaim his birthright by running away! In medieval Japan, eight-year-old Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. But the Hojo clan is in decline, and Tokiyuki’s peaceful days of playing hide-and-seek with his teachers come to an abrupt end when his clan is betrayed from within. The lone survivor of his family, Tokiyuki is the rightful heir to the throne, but to take it back, he’ll have to do what he does best—run away! Now in hiding in Suwa under the protection of Yorishige, Tokiyuki takes on a cover identity—Chojumaru, an apprentice of Suwa Grand Shrine. When Ogasawara Sadamune, the governor of Shinano and vassal of Takauji the usurper, shows up to attend a sporting event at the shrine, he’s not just looking to win—if Sadamune finds any Hojo refugees, he’ll have free rein to take over Suwa completely! Thinking the best way to hide Tokiyuki is in plain sight, Yorishige sends him onto the field to take on Sadamune…